"New York State United Teachers is pleased that the Paterson administration will finally release the school aid payments that it had withheld. This will eliminate any further threat of disruption in education to students and possible financial chaos to districts," said New York State United Teachers President Richard C. Iannuzzi. "At its core, the issue surrounding release of this funding has always been about principle: The Legislature not only approved these payments, but specifically rejected education cuts proposed by the governor as part of his deficit reduction plan in November.
"The state's public education system has been hit hard during these difficult economic times, as fiscal constraints already have led to the elimination of 5,000 teacher and support-staff positions statewide. In order to avoid further academic and financial burdens, our students, teachers and taxpayers must be able to count on funding already approved and earmarked for our public schools by state lawmakers."
NYSUT Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta said a final decision on the continuation of a lawsuit brought by NYSUT and other education organizations has not been made.